Once you’ve finished your first draft, you will likely still have a few things missing before your book is complete. While the manuscript moves through the editorial process, you can focus on seeking endorsements (praise for the book from celebrities, other authors, and fellow experts), thanking anyone who helped along the way, and tidying up loose ends.
Some of these extra pieces are very similar; for example, what’s the difference among a foreword, a preface, and an introduction? We’ve assembled a list of the potential elements of your book, in the order they’ll appear in the final publication.
Questions about the editing process are natural—especially if you are a first-time author. You may be wondering about your editor and what will happen to the manuscript you’ve worked so hard on. Who is this person, and what are they going to do to my book?
Your editor’s motivations are much the same as yours: to make your book the best it can be. Don’t worry: She doesn’t want to stifle your voice; she wants to help you be heard.
After you’ve decided to write a book and you know what your message is, you might find yourself wondering How will I know I’m ready to submit?
At Greenleaf, we receive manuscripts in varying stages of completion. Sometimes, authors have a manuscript that just needs a little polishing before publication. Some authors have a strong outline and know who their audience is. Others come to us with merely an idea. No matter where your project is in its development, the editorial team at Greenleaf can help you ready your ideas for publication.
Once you’ve committed to writing a book, the task of creating enough material to anchor your ideas and build out a two-hundred-something-page work can seem daunting, to say the least. However, if you’re a thought leader in your field and have committed to bringing your ideas to the world in other mediums or modes of communication, you may be further along in the process than you realize.
If you have already written or spoken about the core themes you hope to emphasize in your book—in blog posts, speeches, or even social media, as just a few examples—your first order of business may not be creating new material but, instead, simply gathering the material already at your fingertips. More likely than not, this process will help you not only to determine and emphasize which themes are most important but also to discover your voice, your audience, and so much more.
A book is a conversation between an author and their readers. Many people dream of writing a book, but how do you know if you’re really ready to start working on your book? To start a conversation, you have to know what you want to say.
Thinking about your project like a discussion can help you tackle some of the biggest challenges you face when you start writing: Determining your message, your audience, and your market is essential before you begin. Asking yourself three questions will let you know it’s time to start talking… err, writing.
Many people dream of someday writing a book, but without a clear message and plan of action very few will even write the first word. Here are some tips on how to start writing a book from an editor with more than a decade of publishing-industry experience and hundreds of manuscripts under her belt.
00:00 – Hi, I'm Amber. I'm an editor at Greenleaf Book Group, and today we're going to talk about why a manuscript would need an editor.
00:13 – Even when you're a wonderful writer, a professional editor can always help improve your manuscript. Maybe your book needs just a bit of finessing, or maybe it needs more of an overhaul. Either way, an editor can be a valuable partner. That's the case because authors tend to be very close to their subject matter. They've often worked on the project for years, and it's incredibly helpful to have someone else sit down, approach the work with a fresh perspective, and point out any blind spots that may have developed in the author's vision of their own work and that's precisely what a good editor does.
00:44 – Whether the changes they suggest are big like changing the whole focus of the book, or cutting out entire chapters, or small like punctuation and grammar, the book editor always serves two masters. First, they serve the eventual reader of the book. The editor points out to the author passages that may confuse or annoy or bore or possibly even offend the reader, then they suggest how to fix the problem. They also work on catching errors and omissions. Without this work done, the reader may regard the work as unprofessional and be less invested in the author's message.
01:18 – The book editor’s second master is of course the author. The editor has to make sure that the author is on board with any changes to the book, and that any alterations maintain the spirit and tone of the author's work. An author should never feel that their book editor is putting him or herself into the book or making changes that don't feel warranted. So, a book editor is sort of a test reader really noticing what your readers might before you take the book to market.
01:44 – A professional editor is also willing to frankly point out the problems a more sympathetic test reader might not, say your husband or your mom. You have to really trust someone to put your work in their hands, but we highly recommend looking for a professional, experienced editor and taking that leap of faith. You'll always come away with a stronger book.
